Bhubaneswar: Kohima, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagar and Mumbai have emerged as the safest cities in the country for women, while Patna, Jaipur, Faridabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Srinagar and Ranchi were ranked the lowest, according to the National Annual Report & Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025.
The nationwide index released Thursday, based on a survey of 12,770 women across 31 cities, placed the national safety score at 65 per cent, categorising cities as ‘much above’, ‘above’, ‘below’ or ‘much below’ this benchmark. Kohima and other top-ranked cities were associated with stronger gender equity, civic participation, policing and women-friendly infrastructure.
At the other end of the spectrum, cities like Patna and Jaipur fared poorly due to weak institutional responsiveness, patriarchal norms and gaps in urban infrastructure. “Kohima, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagar, Mumbai lead national safety rankings, often correlating with higher gender equity, infrastructure, policing, or civic participation, while Ranchi, Srinagar, Kolkata, Delhi, Faridabad, Patna, and Jaipur scored lowest, correlating with poorer infrastructure, patriarchal norms, or weaker institutional responsiveness,” the report said.
Overall, six in 10 women surveyed felt ‘safe’ in their city, but 40 per cent still considered themselves ‘not so safe’ or ‘unsafe’. The study revealed sharp drops in perceptions of safety at night, particularly in public transport and recreational spaces. Educational institutions (86 per cent safe) are especially in daylight, but safety perceptions fall sharply at night or off-campus. About 91 per cent of women reported safety, yet about half were unclear if their workplace had a POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) policy.
